The Constructors’ Choice

Team partner ebm-papst already made its contribution to MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS winning the FIA Formula One World Constructors Championship* in their very first collaborative Formula One season

October 2014

When MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS approached ebm-papst mid-way through 2013 to sound out opportunities for a collaboration for Formula One, the racing team made its move at just the right time: Rainer Hundsdörfer, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Thomas Borst, Director of Sales and Marketing for the ebm-papst group, had discussed such a cooperation only days before. The reason for this was the significant changes in the rules to which Formula One has been bound from the 2014 season onwards, in order to consistently improve energy efficiency. “This change fits perfectly with our GreenTech philosophy: efficiency through state-of-the-art technology,” explains Hundsdörfer. “After all, Formula One engines now achieve the same lap times using 30 percent less energy.”

The ideal partner for temperature management

The internationally active racing team has found the perfect team partner in global technology leader ebm-papst. The first season already saw solutions to questions concerning the ventilation and air-conditioning technology for the race car, which helped drive MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS forward to win the Championship. For instance, the ebm-papst solutions helped gain important time savings during the qualifying session, by constantly cooling the temperature-sensitive components of the race cars to optimal operating conditions between the sessions – an important task when dealing with outside temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius at racing locations such as Malaysia, Bahrain and Singapore. Fans in the sidepods and roll hoop openings in the race car were an essential part of the temperature management by MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS.

Learning from one another

Communication is also of high importance for both partners regarding these specific applications. Upon meeting the developers at the team’s British headquarters, the race engineers were astounded at the aerodynamic expertise of ebm-papst, while they, in turn, were equally impressed with the pace at Brackley. “In terms of developing speed, we still have a great deal to learn from the work at Formula One,” highlights Rainer Hundsdörfer. “And, finally, our customers will benefit from this experience.”